Big Win Doesn't Satisfy Mike Macdonald: "Seahawks Need to Play Better"
Mike Macdonald Blasts Seahawks Despite Dominant Win
Even after a 44-13 statement win over the Saints in Week 3, Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald wasn’t in much of a celebratory mood. In classic coach fashion, he’s already digging into what needs to be sharper - and for the Seahawks, that means looking straight at the run game.
Yes, a 31-point win usually means the offense was humming, and in some ways it was - but don’t let the score fool you. Seattle’s ground attack left a lot to be desired.
The Seahawks averaged just 2.6 yards per carry on Sunday, and through three games, they’re sitting at just 3.3 yards per carry. That's not the standard Macdonald is willing to accept.
“Yeah, it’s not good enough,” he said Monday morning on Seattle Sports radio. “It’s not even close to being good enough.
It’s not what we saw throughout camp. It’s not what we saw in the preseason.”
That contrast between August optimism and early-season reality is where Macdonald is focusing his energy. He’s not tossing blame around - in fact, he made it clear this is a full-team issue.
“We’ve got to be better. We need to be better,” he said.
“We need to target it right. We need to hit our targets.
We’ve gotta run off the ball better. We’ve gotta hit our combinations better.
We’ve gotta run it better. So it’s truly all 11.”
And that’s the message: the Seahawks' run game isn’t broken, but it’s not close to where it needs to be. It’s a checklist full of details - blocking angles, line push, back timing - and right now they’re not checking enough of those boxes. Macdonald did, however, strike an optimistic tone about fixing it, noting, “Nothing that’s not fixable, which is great.”
The Seahawks’ running back rotation in Week 3 certainly didn’t help ease those concerns. Kenneth Walker III led the way with 16 carries for just 38 yards - that’s 2.4 yards a pop - though he did punch in two touchdowns.
With Zach Charbonnet sidelined, George Holani stepped in as the No. 2 back and managed 27 yards on 10 carries (2.7 yards per). Rookie Jacardia Wright, elevated from the practice squad, showed a little juice with five carries for 20 yards (a team-best 4.0 YPC), but his touches were limited.
This isn’t just a blip that came out of nowhere. Improving the run game was a major reason Klint Kubiak was brought in as offensive coordinator.
The system is there, the philosophy is there - but the execution isn’t quite clicking yet. There have been glimpses of what this ground game could be, but consistency isn’t one of them right now.
That’s what makes this short week so critical. The Seahawks will be back under the lights Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals, and while it’s a quick turnaround physically, it’s also a quick opportunity to course-correct.
Fixing a running game in four days isn’t realistic. But building some rhythm?
That’s within reach - especially with Kubiak’s zone run concepts, which are designed to reward cohesion and timing over brute force alone.
Macdonald emphasized that despite the scoreboard blowing up on Sunday, nobody in the Seahawks’ facility is patting themselves on the back. “It’s great that we won in that fashion,” he said. “But when you watch it, no one on our football team is gonna be satisfied - really on all three phases.”
And while there’s a long season ahead, it’s clear what one of the early missions is in Seattle: get that ground game moving - not just in the red zone, not just in flashes, but start to build something sustainable. Because if the Seahawks can pair their growing young defense with a balanced offense? That’s a team with serious upside.
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